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Matthew Lewis has joined the “cast” of Ian Fleming vs John le Carré, a debate pitting both novelists against one another, taking place later this month. Fleming is known for his novels about spy James Bond while le Carré introduced the world to George Smiley.

Matthew will be joining Alex Macqueen to help bring the novels to life. Dare we hope that Matt will be portraying Ian Flemming’s James Bond, which is one of Lewis’ favorite film franchises?

Tickets are £30 (£15 for students) and can be purchased here. The debate will be held at Emmanuel Centre on November 29th at 7pm. More information on the event may be read below:

They are the titans of the spy novel, who have elevated thrillers to the level of literary fiction. Much imitated, much adapted by the big and small screens, Ian Fleming and John Le Carré have painted our picture of post-war espionage: Fleming through the dashing figure of James Bond, with his lush locations and Martinis as icy as his heart; Le Carré through his damning portrait of the British secret service drawn from his own time in MI5 and MI6. But which of the two novelists is the greater?

In this thrilling contest, Fleming’s case will made by Anthony Horowitz, creator of the bestselling Alex Rider spy novels and author of the official Bond continuation novel Trigger Mortis. Championing Le Carré – whose memoir about his life as a former spy currently sits in the bestseller lists – will be David Farr, Emmy-nominated screenwriter of the BBC’s adaptation of The Night Manager.

‘Fleming is one of the very few writers – Charles Dickens and JK Rowling might be two others – who have transcended fiction, who have created stories that capture a particular time and place, that are universally recognisable and that are, it would seem, immortal,’ says Horowitz. ‘George Smiley is a fascinating character. James Bond is an icon. That’s the difference.’

By contrast, pointing to Le Carré’s own experiences in the secret service, Farr says: ‘John Le Carré turns espionage into existentialism. His canvas is betrayal — of the realm and of the heart. His greatness comes from the personal nature of that exploration.’

To illustrate their arguments, Horowitz and Farr will be calling on a cast of actors to bring the novels to life. So far we are delighted to have confirmed Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis and Peaky Blinders star Alex Macqueen.

Which of the two giants of 20th century spy fiction should wear the laurels? Join us on November 29th, hear the arguments, and make up your mind.

Earlier today Matt was a guest on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Afternoon Edition. You can listen to the episode over on the BBC website or in the embed below. In the interview he talks about Ripper Street series 4 which is currently airing on BBC 2 and BBC America. Matt also discusses his new play, Unfaithful.

Update: Thanks to AccioMDL we have the video of Matthew’s Radio chat. Watch below:

The interviews are rolling in thanks to Matthew’s upcoming role as Peter in Unfaithful which opens later this month. Both The Reviews Hub and BroadwayBaby had a chance to talk to Matt about the play and his other roles. The interview with The Reviews Hub was a bit more expansive with Matthew talking about his career trajectory, his brother Anthony and Unfaithful. When speaking about the themes of the play he says:

“I suppose it’s about people, human beings, and relationships and interactions between people and communication within relationships and how that differs between genders,” Lewis explains. “How men and women communicate with each other, generational differences, how younger couples may approach relationships compared to older couples, the effect that time plays on a relationship, so a younger couple who have been together for a few months compared to an older couple who have been together for 30 years.

“And then, I guess it’s about honesty as well. It’s about are we every truly ourselves? Or do we always constantly play characters? And do we always keep some things back to ourselves and never share everything with our partner of 30 years. How truthful are we when we communicate on a daily basis? Is it possible to have completely meaningless sex? Or does it always have to be intimate? Does it always have to be a sharing of something?”

Next up is the interview with BroadwayBaby, some highlights may be read below:

Niamh told me that Ruta propositions Sean’s character. Do you meet Niamh and Sean’s characters?
Basically, what happens is Tara, who is my partner, for whatever reasons, initiates a conversation with Tom and whatever happens between those two happens and so Joan’s way of dealing with this is… she ends up hiring Peter, my character. That’s how our relationship comes about. Through that, you explore her side of the coin – how the relationship between her husband and my girlfriend has affected her, and it’s also her taking a look at who she is. Also, you start to see, what do I put into this job? Is she just another woman? Does the conversation become more than that? Do the lines get blurred between what is a client and something more? And I guess, what does infidelity and unfaithfulness actually mean when it comes to sex? Is it possible that sex and companionship and talking can be detached from all that, with no emotion and therefore it’s not being unfaithful, or does it always have some degree of… can it just be business or does there always have to be some degree of intimacy to it? And that’s what gets explored between both couples and how they interact.

How are you thinking about how you are going to interact with the audience in such a small space? Niamh said that you and Ruta seemed very confident and that it won’t be a problem. But the first time I came here, because obviously you can sit this far away [I gesture at the space between us across the table] you feel like if you blink you are going to ruin the scene!
Yeah, yeah I know what you mean. I’m very acutely aware of that. If Niamh has taken that as some kind of confidence from me then that’s amazing because I’m not sure how much I feel it now after one week. I guess at the minute I’m trying not to think about it too much [he says conspiratorially, half under his breath]. I’ve only just got in the space for the first time this morning, Ruta and I, I’d seen it before, but we only got it up on its feet this morning, so that’s already made me feel a little bit more comfortable with it.
It’s one of those plays where because it’s so real and the characters are so layered, (it’s something Adam, our director has been talking about) on the surface it seems very simple. Oh, this is the story, this is what he is trying to say and this is where the characters are going. And actually when you’ve unpacked it, there are a whole lot of things that are going on with everyone. There are a whole lot of beats and notes and it’s a bit like fuuuck. But I think once we get there it’s going to be so intense in terms of what’s going on, and because there’s only four of us, and only ever two people onstage at any one time, it’s like a series of two-handers. I think I’m just going to be completely engrossed with it to be honest that I think everyone else will sort of melt away.

It’s also one of those things where there’s humour in it and it is darkly comic, but the humour comes from the reality of it. If the audience laughs at something, fine, but I’m not interested in that, it’s more just playing the truth of it and seeing what people do and don’t relate to.

In terms of that I will be interested absolutely in how people receive it and as with any play I’m sure there will be things that are funny that I haven’t picked up on and vice versa. I’m going to try not to be too influenced by it, which may be difficult!

Matthew was a guest on ITV’s This Morning on August 15th to talk about his new play Unfaithful and Ripper Street Season 4 which will begin airing on BBC Two on August 22nd. It is also airing on Thursdays in the United States on BBC America.